USL Charleston Battery

Battery Away Preview: First St. Louis, Then Louisville

Published on August 18, 2015 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release


CHARLESTON -- The Battery's longest road stretch of 2015 begins tonight when the team boards a bus to St. Louis, Mo., the first stop on this week's two-game road trip and the start of four consecutive away matches.

First up for the Battery (9-4-9, 36 points, third in the USL East): A rematch of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Saint Louis FC (5-9-8) on Thursday at 8 p.m. at World Wide Technology Park in the St. Louis suburbs. On deck: A critical duel with second-place Louisville City FC (12-4-6, 42 points) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in Slugger Stadium.

In both instances, the games will mark the Battery's first visits to each of the new independent franchises.

SCOUTING THE BATTERY

Despite dominating Saint Louis in most aspects of the game on Saturday (including a 22-3 advantage in shots and a 8-0 ratio on corners), the Battery's late equalizer came down to a dramatic set-piece header by a substitute forward the staff would have preferred to rest.

The good news? Rookie forward Ricky Garbanzo (21 appearances, 15 starts, 4 goals and two assists) returns from a one-game suspension served last weekend. Forward Heviel Cordoves' late-game heroics were a good sign on Saturday, even though some concern about his ankle persists.

The bad? Center back Shawn Ferguson (22 appearances, 22 starts, 2 goals and an assist) will miss his first game of the season Thursday on a one-game suspension for yellow-card accumulation. Also missing from the Battery back line will be fullback Obi Woodbine (17 appearances, 16 starts), whose sore knee has kept him out of action for more than a week. Woodbine and forward Austin Savage (ankle) are the only two players who will miss this road trip with injuries.

Cordoves' 89th minute equalizer vs. Saint Louis was his fifth of the season and fourth in USL play. It was also his first header goal, and only the team's fifth header score of 2015. Its significance to the team, however, goes beyond salvaging a disappointing draw in front of more than 4,100 grateful fans. It even goes beyond extending the unbeaten magic at MUSC Health Stadium to 22 consecutive games.

Without it, the Battery would have entered this road trip with nine consecutive scoreless halves of soccer weighing on their collective shoulders. Granted, they've produced plenty of chances -- 40 combined shots in their games against Toronto and Montreal -- but any freakish streak can take on a life of its own. By cracking the lid on opposing goal, Cordoves' score removed some of the pressure that had been building up around the locker room.

Dane Kelly (11 goals, 3 assists, with nine goals in USL play) remains the tip of the Battery spear. Yet Kelly hasn't scored in a month, and since the Wilmington game he's averaged more than six shots a game without producing a goal.

While the attack has sputtered, the defense has been stellar, allowing just three goals in the last seven matches. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Odisnel Cooper's standing in the league has risen dramatically: He's now second in goals-allowed average (0.93) and fourth in save percentage (.750).

With Ferguson and Woodbine out for Thursday's match, the team's standard 2015 back line will swap out two regular starters. But fullback will be capably manned by Emmanuel Adjetey and Quinton Griffith, and rookie center back Forrest Lasso has progressed noticeably since his baptism of fire this spring.

Coach Anhaeuser tweaked the center of his lineup on Saturday, giving Memo Rodriguez a rare start in the deep-lying central midfield role usually reserved for Justin Portillo and pushing defensive mid Sebastien Thuriere up to the No. 10 spot. With Garbanzo back in the mix this week, this week's lineups could look a bit more familiar.

In recent years, Anhaeuser has often reserved the second match of two-game road trips for his backup keeper. This year that's Kevin Corby who has already logged seven starts, producing a 2-2-3 record and the team's best marks for goals-against average (0.86) and save percentage (.793). No word on whether Anhaeuser plans on extending that tradition Saturday.

SCOUTING SAINT LOUIS FC

While many of the same things we wrote about Saint Louis last week hold true for this return leg, what's changed is the number of players on suspension.

Joining fullback Nick Bibbs and midfielder Jacob Bushue on this week's suspended list are defender Oskar Gasecki and forwards Bryan Gaul and Kingsley Bryce Gasecki was sent off with two yellow cards at MUSC Health Stadium, while Gaul earned himself a seat on the bench when his yellow in the 29th minute put him over the yellow-card accumulation limit. Bryce, a rookie on loan from the Chicago Fire, received a straight red in the 90th minute.

Defender James Musa, who was originally given a two-game suspension for violent conduct after the FC Montreal match, was restored to the squad last week on appeal. He played well against the Battery last time, and should help anchor the defense Thursday as well. Former Battery goalkeeper Alec Kann, on loan to St. Louis from the Chicago Fire, also gave a good account of himself in Charleston, logging four saves -- including a clutch denial of a brilliant bending chance by Dante Marini. Though his goals-against average is pedestrian, his save percentage (.793) is the second-best in USL.

While the losses of Bibbs, Bushue and Gasecki will clearly influence the team on defense, Saint Louis' average defense hasn't been Coach Dale Schilly's the top issue: It's the attack that's been routinely suspect, and Gaul has been its best option. The team is 22nd in the league in goals scored, and -- not coincidentally -- 22nd in assists. Gaul leads the team in both categories.

Barring any surprise new loans from their MLS affiliate, look for young strikers Jeremie Lynch, Jordan Roberts to pick up the slack. Veteran forward/attacking-mid Mike Ambersley could be asked to shoulder more of the load as well.

The team's success on the road has masked its confounding troubles at home, where its 1-6-4 record is the league's worst. Despite those struggles, Saint Louis FC boasts one of the best attendance averages in USL. After fans expressed concern over the rash of red cards and ejections during the past two games, Saint Louis General Manager Jeremy Alumbaugh published a Q&A today to address those issues.

"In the Charleston game last weekend, we feel that there were a couple inaccurate decisions that went against us and, unfortunately, resulted in suspensions for two of our players," Alumbaugh said.

"I wouldn't classify us as a physical or dirty team by any means. We are currently last in the USL in fouls committed. There are 15 teams in the league that have as many or more yellow cards than we do. We have recently had two games where it all happened at once, so I understand how fans might be frustrated. We're not happy about it, but if you look at the season as a whole, I don't see us being undisciplined as a team."

SCOUTING LOUISVILLE CITY FC

Louisville has been USL's Blockbuster hit of the Summer in the Eastern Conference, storming out of mid-table obscurity to overtake Charleston's No. 2 spot in the playoff race. It won six straight between June 27 and Aug. 1, dropped a 4-0 head-scratcher at home against FC Montreal, then logged a 5-1 win at Harrisburg and a 2-2 draw at Tulsa over the last week.

Louisville literally wears its one-year affiliation with Orlando City SC on its sleeve, with more purple on display than a Prince concert at a Lisa Frank retailers convention. Former Lions midfielder James O'Connor prowls the sidelines as its coach. But make no mistake: This is an independent club with an energized fan base and a potent mixture of talent.

The team's top player? In Louisville, that's a no-brainer.

Remember Matt Fondy? The former Pittsburgh Riverhounds/Orange County Blues star spent two years in MLS before returning to USL with expansion Louisville. With 16 goals to his credit and fresh off a Week 22 Player of the Week performance -- his third of the season -- Fondy is a front-runner for USL MVP.

Louisville leads Charleston by six points with six games remaining for both clubs. And with both the teams' matchups still ahead, the most important chapters in this story have yet to be written.

Check out the Charleston Battery Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 18, 2015


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